MEDIA RELEASE - 18 OCTOBER 2010

With a vote of 9-to-5, a majority of Parramatta City Councillors voted to ban all brothels and sex related services as an acceptable land use, making Parramatta the first community in the State of New South Wales to defy the NSW State Government’s planning requirements.

Under the NSW Government’s new planning regulations template imposed on all NSW local Councils, all NSW local councils are required to include brothels and sex related services in their local planning regulations.

“Since the decriminalisation of sex services in 1995 which was introduced in order to avert corruption, NSW has instead seen a proliferation of brothels and sex services in commercial and residential areas,” said Clr Chiang Lim, Parramatta’s immediate past Deputy Lord Mayor.

Clr Lim is the only elected Parramatta Councillor remaining with a perfect record of voting against all brothel applications. Elected 11 years ago in September 1999, Clr Lim has campaigned publicly campaigned against brothels both legal and illegal. In 2001, Clr Lim was also first in getting Parramatta as the first Council to support the use of utilities orders against brothels via the Support for the Community Protection (Illegal Brothels) Bill. It was a proposal by the NSW Liberal/National State MPs but was rejected by the then Carr Labor Government. In 2007, the utilities order became law by the Iemma Labor Government, with Parramatta also being the first in NSW to use the utilities order to deny the supply of electricity and water to brothels deemed to be operating illegally.

“The prohibition of brothels and sex related services in the Parramatta local government area is a direct response of the inability of Parramatta City Council to best represent the interests of our community against the imposition of such services by the NSW State Government, and our blunted ability to successfully defend our community’s interests in the NSW Land and Environment Court against brothels,” said Clr Lim.

This prohibition amendment now proceeds to the NSW Department of Planning for their concurrence. Invitations to Parramatta’s local parliamentarians will be sent seeking their support for this prohibition. The Parramatta State MP and Deputy Speaker is the Hon Tanya Gadiel MP (Labor), the Parramatta Federal MP is Julie Owens MP (Labor), and Parramatta’s local NSW Senator is Marise Payne.

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For any further information, please contact Clr Chiang Lim,
Parramatta City Council on 0427 277 299 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it